Trauma victim: Yes or no?: Why it may be difficult to answer questions regarding violence, sexual abuse, and other traumatic events

Violence Against Women

Volumn 15, Issue 6, 2009, Pages 699-719

  Thoresen, Siri ^a   Allen, Carolina ^a  

^a Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies   (Norway)

Author keywords

Measurement; Potentially traumatic events; Sexual abuse; Violence

Indexed keywords

ADULT; AGED; ARTICLE; FEMALE; HEALTH SURVEY; HUMAN; LIFE EVENT; METHODOLOGY; MIDDLE AGED; NORWAY; PARTNER VIOLENCE; POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER; PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECT; QUESTIONNAIRE; SELF CONCEPT; SEXUAL CRIME; STATISTICS; VICTIM; WOMEN'S HEALTH;

ADULT; AGED; CRIME VICTIMS; FEMALE; HUMANS; LIFE CHANGE EVENTS; MIDDLE AGED; NORWAY; POPULATION SURVEILLANCE; QUESTIONNAIRES; SELF CONCEPT; SEX OFFENSES; SPOUSE ABUSE; STRESS DISORDERS, POST-TRAUMATIC; WOMEN'S HEALTH; YOUNG ADULT;

EID: 65149091352     PISSN: 10778012     EISSN: 15528448     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/1077801209332182     Document Type: Article

References (47)

1. Becker-Blease, K.A., & Freyd, J.J. (2006). Research participants telling the truth about their lives. The ethics of asking and not asking about abuse. American Psychologist, 61, 218-226.
2. Berns, N., & Schweingruber, D. (2007). "When you're involved, it's just different": Making sense of domestic violence. Violence Against Women, 13, 240-261.
3. Black, M.C., Kresnow, M.J., Simon, T.R., Arias, I., & Shelley, G. (2006). Telephone survey respondents' reactions to questions regarding interpersonal violence. Violence and Victims, 21, 445-459. (Pubitemid 44141370)
4. Bramsen, I., Dirkzwager, A.J., van Esch, S.C., & van der Ploeg, H. (2001). Consistency of self-reports of traumatic events in a population of Dutch peacekeepers: Reason for optimism? Journal of Traumatic Stress, 14, 733-740. (Pubitemid 34019924)
5. Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing grounded theory. A practical guide through qualitative analysis. London: Sage.
6. Creamer, M., Burgess, P., & McFarlane, A.C. (2001). Post-traumatic stress disorder: Findings from the Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Well-Being. Psychological Medicine, 31, 1237-1247. (Pubitemid 32975889)
7. Della Femina, D., Yeager, C.A., & Lewis, D.O. (1990). Child abuse: Adolescent records vs adult recall. Child Abuse & Neglect, 14, 227-231. (Pubitemid 20280545)
8. Dube, S.R., Anda, R.F., Whitfield, C.L., Brown, D.W., Felitti, V.J., Dong, M., et al. (2005). Long-term consequences of childhood sexual abuse by gender of victim. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 28, 430-438. (Pubitemid 40719044)
9. Engels, R.C., Knibbe, R.A., & Drop, M.J. (1997). Inconsistencies in adolescents' self-reports of initiation of alcohol and tobacco use. Addictive Behaviors, 22, 613-623. (Pubitemid 27407439)
10. Fergusson, D.M., Horwood, L.J., & Woodward, L.J. (2000). The stability of child abuse reports: A longitudinal study of the reporting behaviour of young adults. Psychological Medicine, 30, 529-544. (Pubitemid 30410317)
11. Follette, V.M., Polusny, M.A., Bechtle, A.E., & Naugle, A.E. (1996). Cumulative trauma: The impact of child sexual abuse, adult sexual assault, and spouse abuse. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 9, 25-35. (Pubitemid 26050626)
12. Frans, O., Rimmo, P.A., Aberg, L., & Fredrikson, M. (2005). Trauma exposure and post-traumatic stress disorder in the general population. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 111, 291-299. (Pubitemid 40445034)
13. Frueh, B.C., Hamner, M.B., Cahill, S.P., & Gold, P.B. (2000). Apparent symptom overreporting in combat veterans evaluated for PTSD. Clinical Psychology Review, 20, 853-885.
14. Galea, S., Nandi, A., Stuber, J., Gold, J., Acierno, R., Best, C.L., et al. (2005). Participant reactions to survey research in the general population after terrorist attacks. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 18, 461-465. (Pubitemid 46421961)
15. Glaser, B., & Strauss, A.L. (1967). Discovery of grounded theory. Chicago: Aldine.
16. Glaser, B. (1978). Theoretical sensitivity. Mill Valley, CA: Sociology Press.
17. Goffman, E. (1968). Stigma: Notes on the management of spoiled identity. Harmondsworth, UK: Penguin.
18. Goodman, L., Corcoran, C., Turner, K., Yuan, N., & Green, B. (1998). Assessing traumatic event exposure: General issues and preliminary findings for the stressful life events screening questionnaire. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 11, 521-542. (Pubitemid 28354345)
19. Graham-Bermann, S.A., & Seng, J. (2005). Violence exposure and traumatic stress symptoms as additional predictors of health problems in high-risk children. Journal of Pediatrics, 146, 349-354. (Pubitemid 40341744)
20. Green, B.L., Chung, J.Y., Daroowalla, A., Kaltman, S., & DeBenedictis, C. (2006). Evaluating the cultural validity of the Stressful Life Events Screening Questionnaire. Violence Against Women, 12, 1191-1213.
21. Green, B.L., Goodman, L.A., Krupnick, J.L., Corcoran, C.B., Petty, R.M., Stockton, P., et al. (2000). Outcomes of single versus multiple trauma exposure in a screening sample. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 13, 271-286. (Pubitemid 30333796)
22. Hardt, J., & Rutter, M. (2004). Validity of adult retrospective reports of adverse childhood experiences: Review of the evidence. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 45, 260-273. (Pubitemid 38240273)
23. Harned, M.S. (2004). Does it matter what you call it? The relationship between labeling unwanted sexual experiences and distress. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 72, 1090-1099. (Pubitemid 39658542)
24. Harned, M.S. (2005). Understanding women's labeling of unwanted sexual experiences with dating partners. A qualitative analysis. Violence Against Women, 11, 374-413.
25. Hepp, U., Gamma, A., Milos, G., Eich, D., Aidacic-Gross, V., Rossler, W., et al. (2006). Inconsistency in reporting potentially traumatic events. British Journal of Psychiatry, 188, 278-283. (Pubitemid 43341657)
26. Jarvis, K.L., Gordon, E.E., & Novaco, R.W. (2005). Psychological distress of children and mothers in domestic violence emergency shelters. Journal of Family Violence, 20, 389-402.
27. Katerndahl, D., Burge, S.K., & Kellogg, N. (2006). Factors that predict how women label their own childhood sexual abuse. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 15, 43-54. (Pubitemid 44157057)
28. Kessler, R.C., Sonnega, A., Bromet, E., & Nelson, C.B. (1995). Posttraumatic stress disorder in the National Comorbidity Survey. Archives of General Psychiatry, 52, 1048-1060.
29. Krinsley, K.E., Gallagher, J.G., Weathers, F.W., Kutter, C.J., & Kaloupek, D.G. (2003). Consistency of retrospective reporting about exposure to traumatic events. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 16, 399-409. (Pubitemid 36909278)
30. Leisenring, A. (2006). Confronting "victim" discourses: The identity work of battered women. Symbolic Interaction, 29, 307-330.
31. Loseke, D. (2001). Lived realities and formula stories of "battered women." In J. F. Gubrium & J. A. Holstein (Eds.), Institutional selves: Troubled identities in a postmodern world (pp. 106-126). New York: Oxford University Press.
32. Nemeroff, C.B., Bremner, J.D., Foa, E.B., Mayberg, H.S., North, C.S., & Stein, M.B. (2006). Posttraumatic stress disorder: A state-of-the-science review. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 40, 1-21. (Pubitemid 43117523)
33. Newman, E., & Kaloupek, D.G. (2004). The risks and benefits of participating in trauma-focused research studies. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 17, 383-394. (Pubitemid 41185911)
34. Newman, E., Walker, E.A., & Gefland, A. (1999). Assessing the ethical costs and benefits of trauma-focused research. General Hospital Psychiatry, 21, 187-196. (Pubitemid 29278013)
35. Norris, F.H. (1992). Epidemiology of trauma: Frequency and impact of different potentially traumatic events on different demographic groups. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 60, 409-418.
36. Norris, F.H., & Hamblen, J.L. (2004). Standardized self-report measures of civilian trauma and PTSD. In J. P. Wilson & T. M. Keane (Eds.), Assessing psychological trauma and PTSD (2 nd ed., pp. 63-121). New York: Guilford.
37. O'Sullivan, L.F., Byers, E.S., & Finkelman, L. (1998). A comparison of male and female college students' experiences of sexual coercion. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 22, 177-195. (Pubitemid 128175934)
38. Ouimette, P., Read, J., & Brown, P.J. (2005). Consistency of retrospective reports of DSM IV criterion A traumatic stressors among substance use disorder patients. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 18, 43-51. (Pubitemid 46422015)
39. Resnick, H.S., Kilpatrick, D.G., Dansky, B.S., Saunders, B.E., & Best, C.L. (1993). Prevalence of civilian trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder in a representative national sample of women. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 61, 984-991. (Pubitemid 24006588)
40. Roemer, L., Litz, B.T., Orsillo, S.M., Ehlich, P.J., & Friedman, M.J. (1998). Increases in retrospective accounts of war-zone exposure over time: The role of PTSD symptom severity. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 11, 597-605. (Pubitemid 28354351)
41. Sedlak, A. (1988). The effects of personal experience with couple violence on calling it "battering" and allocating blame. In T. Gerald, D. Finkelhor, J. T. Kirkpatrick, & M. A. Strauss (Eds.), Coping with family violence: Research and policy perspectives (pp. 31-59). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
42. Skog, O.J. (1992). The validity of self-reported drug use. British Journal of Addiction, 87, 539-548.
43. Southwick, S.M., Morgan, C.A., 3rd, Nicolaou, A.L., & Charney, D.S. (1997). Consistency of memory for combat-related traumatic events in veterans of Operation Desert Storm. American Journal of Psychiatry, 154, 173-177. (Pubitemid 27053721)
44. Spinhoven, P., Bean, T., & Eurelings-Bontekoe, L. (2006). Inconsistencies in the self-report of traumatic experiences by unaccompanied refugee minors. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 19, 663-673. (Pubitemid 46424380)
45. Strauss, A., & Corbin, J.A. (1990). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
46. Theran, S.A., Sullivan, C.M., Bogat, G.A., & Sutherland, C.S. (2006). Abusive partners and ex-partners. Understanding the effects of relationship to the abuser on women's well-being. Violence Against Women, 12, 950-969.
47. Thombs, B.D., Bernstein, D.P., Ziegelstein, R.C., Scher, C.D. Forde, D.R., Walker, E.A., et al. (2006). An evaluation of screening questions for childhood abuse in 2 community samples. Implications for clinical practice. Archives of Internal Medicine, 166, 2020-2026.